Search This Blog

South Asia Investor Review is focused on reporting, analyzing and discussing the economy and the financial markets of countries in South Asia, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. For investors looking to invest in emerging markets beyond BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), this blog is designed to help international investors looking to learn about investing in South Asia with focus on Pakistan. Riaz has another blog called Haq's Musings at http://www.riazhaq.com

Pakistan government has approved an $ 8.2 billion project to upgrade the 1,872 km Karachi - Peshawar rail track, bridges, tunnels, and culverts, according to International Railway Journal.

The new track will support increased axle load of up to 25 tons, up from 22.8 tons which is now the norm in South Asian countries. The higher axle load capacity will allow heavier freight trains carrying more freight per train for greater trade overland.

China will provide 85% of the financing for the project. It will be done in two phases, with the first due for completion in December 2017 and the second in 2021.

A study for the plans for this international rail link was first presented in 2014 at a two-day International Seminar on the Silk Road Economic Belt in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, according to China Daily.

"The 1,800-kilometer China-Pakistan railway is planned to also pass through Pakistan's capital of Islamabad and Karachi," Zhang Chunlin said. "Although the cost of constructing the railway is expected to be high due to the hostile environment and complicated geographic conditions, the study of the (international rail link) project has already started," Zhang said. "China and Pakistan will co-fund the railway construction. Building oil and gas pipelines between Gwadar Port and China is also on the agenda," Zhang added.

The Pak-China link announcement was part of the discussion on China's broader effort to revive the historic Silk Route by building three main corridors through southern, central and northern Xinjiang to connect China with Russia, Europe and Pakistan. The Silk Road Economic Belt International seminar which concluded on Friday in Urumqi, Xinjinag was jointly sponsored by the State Council Information Office, China International Publishing Group (CIPG), China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences.

In a 2013 report, China's State-owned Xinhua News Agency articulated China's motivation to expand land trade in addition to building its navy to protect its sea trade. Here's what it said:

“As a global economic power, China has a tremendous number of economic sea lanes to protect. China is justified to develop its military capabilities to safeguard its sovereignty and protect its vast interests around the world."

The Xinhua report has for the first time shed light on China's growing concerns with US pivot to Asia which could threaten China's international trade and its economic lifeline of energy and other natural resources it needs to sustain and grow its economy. This concern has been further reinforced by the following:

1. Frequent US statements to "check" China's rise. For example, former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a 2011 address to the Naval Postgraduate School in California: "We try everything we can to cooperate with these rising powers and to work with them, but to make sure at the same time that they do not threaten stability in the world, to be able to project our power, to be able to say to the world that we continue to be a force to be reckoned with." He added that "we continue to confront rising powers in the world - China, India, Brazil, Russia, countries that we need to cooperate with. We need to hopefully work with. But in the end, we also need to make sure do not threaten the stability of the world."

2. Chinese strategists see a long chain of islands from Japan in the north, all the way down to Australia, all United States allies, all potential controlling chokepoints that could block Chinese sea lanes and cripple its economy, business and industry.

Chinese Premier's emphasis on "connectivity and maritime sectors" and "China-Pakistan economic corridor project" is mainly driven by their paranoia about the US intentions to "check China's rise" It is intended to establish greater maritime presence at Gwadar, located close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and to build land routes (motorways, rail links, pipelines) from the Persian Gulf through Pakistan to Western China. This is China's insurance to continue trade with West Asia and the Middle East in case of hostilities with the United States and its allies in Asia.

Pakistan's Gawadar Port- located 400 Km from the Strait of Hormuz

As to the benefits for Pakistanis, expanded trade and the Chinese investment in "connectivity and maritime sectors" and "China-Pakistan economic corridor project" will help build infrastructure, stimulate Pakistan's economy and create millions of badly needed jobs.

The index clocked in an intraday range of more than 440 points, hitting a low of 36,637.81 in early trading before bouncing back towards the end of the session.

"Market sentiment remained sombre today, in line with sentiment seen in global equities and commodities ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S., U.K. and Japan this week," said Gohar Rasool, head of international sales at Inter Market Securities Pvt Ltd.

MSCI is due to announce whether it will be reclassifying Pakistan as an emerging market on Tuesday.

The stock exchange was dropped from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in 2008, but Pakistan has in recent months launched a final push to get back in so it can vastly expand its pool of potential investors.

Among index heavyweights that gained on the day were Engro Fertilizers Ltd, MCB Bank Ltd and Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd.

Oil stocks took a hit as international crude oil prices declined. Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd closed down 0.93 percent while Pakistan Oilfields Ltd was down 0.75 percent.

Traded volume on the day stood at 104.7 million shares, with traded value at 6.67 billion rupees ($63.83 million).

With a population of only around 50 million, Central Asia will not become a huge market for manufactured goods. It will be twice as expensive for India to send goods to Central Asia through Chabahar than it would be overland across Pakistan. Indian goods are thus unlikely to be competitive against Chinese products shipped overland.

Also read: Lessons from Chabahar

The strategic advantages for India are also questionable. Its influence in Afghanistan will be more dependent on Iran. Pakistan’s cooperation will continue to be essential to restoring peace in Afghanistan. Indian shipping lanes to Chabahar will be vulnerable to disruption. India’s limited influence in Central Asia will not dent that of Russia and China.

The new Great Game will increasingly revolve around China’s One Belt, One Road vision of land and sea connections between Asia, Europe and beyond. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the first component of this ambitious project.

In comparison to the Chabahar route, the strategic and economic implications of CPEC are enormous. It will transform China from a one- to a two-ocean power; enable a part of its $4000 billion annual trade to circumvent the Malacca straits and other potential choke points in the Indian Ocean and shorten China’s supply lines to the Gulf, West Asia and Africa. For these reasons, if no other, China has a vital stake in Pakistan’s strategic stability and socioeconomic development. The Chinese commitment of $46bn for CPEC projects is but the first instalment of the massive capital which China is prepared to deploy in Pakistan.

Instead of being distracted by the moves of its adversaries, Pakistan must remain focused on the implementation of CPEC. This strategic enterprise should not be allowed to be stalled or delayed by external pressure or internal politics, inefficiency or corruption. It would be wise to create a separate and independent CPEC Authority which can be a ‘one-stop-shop’ entrusted with achieving CPEC’s enormous potential for Pakistan’s development. CPEC projects must go beyond infrastructure development to encompass manufacture, consumer goods, housing, health, textiles, finance and other sectors. To this end, the interaction between Pakistani and Chinese private- and public-sector companies must be actively expanded and intensified. Some of the externally imposed limitations on CPEC investment projects, such as restrictions on ‘sovereign guarantees’ for debt finance, need to be removed expeditiously.

CPEC faces threats from Pakistan and China’s adversaries. These will have to be met forcefully.

India’s opposition has been announced openly. New Delhi will continue to utilise Afghanistan as a base to destabilise Pakistan and undermine CPEC. The recent spate of attacks on Chinese workers in Pakistan is no accident. Pakistan will have to further enhance security for them and consider direct action to remove the Afghan-based threat from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Iran has assured that Chabahar is not designed to compete with Gwadar or CPEC. Pakistan and Iran can cooperate for mutual benefit: to end terrorism in Balochistan, expand trade, and construct the Iranian gas pipeline and a Gwadar-Chabahar economic corridor. However, Tehran often wants to run with the hare and hunt with the hound. Some recent events have sent disturbing signals which Pakistan cannot ignore.

To balance the growing Indo-Iranian relationship, Pakistan must maintain and reinforce its relationship with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. It would be in Pakistan’s interest to help in giving substance and form to the ‘Islamic coalition’ hastily formed by Riyadh. It should also convince the GCC states of the benefits of CPEC as a path to their closer connection with China.

America is and will remain a major player in the new Asian Great Game. ...

As per the contracts, China would provide a concessionary loan of $1.3 billion for the 120-kilometre long Thakot-Havelian section of Karakoram Highyway-II (KKH-II) and $2.9 billion for the 392-kilometre Multan-Sukkur section of the Lahore-Karachi motorway.

------

Since China is providing concessionary loans for both projects, the contracts have been awarded on a government-to-government basis, waiving the condition of international competitive bidding.

Out of the $46 billion CPEC investment package, roughly $11.5 billion is reserved for the road and railways infrastructure. China has promised to give concessionary loans for four infrastructure projects. Two of these projects will get interest-free loans.

China would extend assistance to Pakistan at 1.6 percent interest rate for infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it is learnt. Member, Infrastructure and Regional Connectivity of Planning Commission Malik Ahmad Khan confirmed that China would extend assistance to Pakistan at 1.6 percent interest for infrastructure projects under CPEC. "We wanted China to reduce this rate from 1.6 percent to 1 percent. And the Finance Division is making efforts in this regard," he added.

Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Projects (CPEC), China has promised to invest around $11.8 billion in infrastructure projects and $33.8 billion in various energy projects which will be completed by 2017 at the latest. According to sources, the corridor is a 2,700-kilometre highway that would stretch from Kashghar to Gwadar through Khunjrab. The CPEC will integrate the economies of the two friendly countries; it envisages several economic zones.

After decades of neglect, a silver lining is on the horizon for Pakistan Railways as it may be able to attract multi-billion dollar investment for the upgradation as well as deployment of new railway infrastructure across the country under two regional economic unions, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to link Central Asia and China with Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar.

An official source said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has started the process to assess the financial needs for upgradation of 461 km main line (ML-1) between Lahore and Peshawar, under its CAREC Railway Connectivity Investment Programme. The financing is likely to start flowing form next year.

The Ministry of Railways has already shared plans, under early harvest projects by 2020, to upgrade Karachi-Peshawar main line (ML-1) and extension of ML-2 from Jacobabad to Gwadar via Basima to both CAREC and CPEC. If financing was available, the projects would be completed in relatively short time as the Pakistan Railways has technical expertise to execute the projects, he added.

ADB will be providing multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) to make the railway system more efficient and competitive. Improved railway corridor of Lahore-Peshawar will improve Pakistan Railways’ institutional efficiency. Financial assistance will also be provided for Railways’ modernization, IT-based accounting system and transforming and migrating accounting data into the new accounting system.

Under the plan, 411 km railway track between Lahore-Peshawar section of ML-1 will be upgraded and dualised together with new signaling and telecommunications system, including power supply for these systems, and upgraded passenger facilities at Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar stations. A 53-km section in the hilly area from Kaluwal to Pindora will have to be realigned and dualised. Except for realignment sections in the hilly tract, it is likely that all the work for rehabilitation and upgradation of the physical infrastructure will be limited to the PR-owned right of way.

Except for Pakistan, railways in all CAREC countries have more freight carriers than passenger tariff. CAREC railways have increased freight traffic volumes which shows the large potential for PR to freight forward to and from CAREC countries. Domestic market is large in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China.

In the past, the railways infrastructure plans always received a cold shoulder from the government, but now the situation has changed as multilateral institutions are interested in linking Pakistani ports with China and Central Asia. Now the government wants to attract investment in railways infrastructure and China is asked to finance upgradation of strategically located ML-1 which connects major population centers in three provinces.

Under CPEC, Pakistan has shared Phase-I (Early Harvest Projects) upgradation of ML-1 (Karachi-Peshawar and Taxila to Havelian) and construction of New Dryport at Havelian (Buldher). In medium term, Phase-II upgradation of ML-2 and extension of ML-2 (Gwadar to Jacobabad via Basima) is proposed. The long term Phase-III seeks establishment of Havelian-Khunjrab-Kashghar rail link.

The source said Pakistan has shared plans to link the Gwadar port Kandahar, Kabul and Dushanbe. The second plan is to link Gwadar with Quetta and onwards to China. He said Pakistan Railways has prepared plans on rail link between Gwadar port and Mastung, Chaman to Kandahar rail link and rail lines between Kandahar and the Tajik border are also planned.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recently hosted the 15th meeting of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (Carec), a body working for the collective benefit of the region by promoting economic cooperation.

Pakistan is increasingly looking at Central Asian states in an effort to forge trade links and give a fillip to its dwindling exports. However, so far, it has not been able to tap the full trade potential because of lack of infrastructure for connecting the South and Central Asia regions.

Carec is also pushing ahead with plans to encourage regional connectivity to enhance the trade volume.

In the Carec meeting, more than 200 participants from 10 member states and multilateral development partners participated. The member countries included Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan while Georgia took part as an observer.

Carec is an important forum that encourages regional countries to develop physical networks and infrastructure and ensure peace, stability and economic development.

Strategies and initiatives were highlighted at the huddle to stimulate much-needed investment in energy sector of the member states. After a briefing on selected case studies undertaken by Carec members including Pakistan, prominent investors shared their insights to identify and make investments in energy projects.

Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appreciated that Carec had mobilised $29 billion for pouring into regional development projects and voiced hope that a mid-term review of the regional body in the next 10 years would prove to be an opportunity to fast-track economic cooperation.

The regional connectivity may lead to economic development and prosperity of the region. In this connection, Pakistan is working on energy projects such as the Central Asia-South Asia 1,000-megawatt (Casa-1,000) power import project and the Tapi gas pipeline that will start from Turkmenistan.

The Casa-1,000 is also going to pave the way for digital connectivity between the two regions through a fibre optic cable network called Digital Casa-I, which will link Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The existing cable reaches Pakistan after going through a long route. It first goes to Russia, extends to Europe and then comes to Pakistan.

The new project will provide a good route to connect the two regions. It will allow regional countries to become independent while tapping the international internet channels.

CPEC support

In his welcome address at the Carec ministerial meeting on the theme “Linking connectivity with economic transformation”, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) programme, which Pakistan had undertaken, would complement regional connectivity initiatives of Carec members.

He stressed that the CPEC offered a massive opportunity for connectivity between Central Asia, Middle East and Africa and was bound to play a defining role in economic development of the two regions.

Dar said improving the transport corridor was not an end in itself but it was an investment in establishing sound infrastructure and complementary frameworks for shared prosperity of the present and future generations in the region.

------

The markets of Central Asian states and Russia are open and this is the area where Pakistan needs to increasingly focus on.

With an air of distrust between Islamabad and Washington over the latter’s inclination towards Delhi, China and Russia could not only support Pakistan’s economy, but they will also block India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan in the international arena. To achieve all that, Pakistan needs to forge deeper links with the Central Asia region and Carec can play a decisive role in that connection.

The primary north-south transport corridor in Pakistan runs from Torkham on the northern border with Afghanistan and passes through primary production and population centres such as Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan, and Khanewal, before reaching the port city of Karachi in the south. The corridor serves the economy of an area that accounts for 80 percent to 85 percent of the country’s GDP and in the regional context, forms an integral part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) corridors 5 and 6 after Pakistan's accession to the CAREC Programme in 2010.

------

The M-4 Motorway, linking Faisalabad with Khanewal, would be completed by July 2018, said National Highway Authority (NHA) member Mansoor Ahmed Sirohey on Friday.

He told journalists that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the leading financer in M-4 Motorway, as the bank disbursed $170 million (77 percent share of the project) in 2009 for construction of a 58km four-lane motorway M-4, connecting Faisalabad to Gojra (section I). This section was completed in December 2014.

Similarly, the ADB would provide 56.15 percent share of the funding of the section II of the M-4, which will construct the 62km four-lane access controlled motorway connecting Gojra and Shorkot. Meanwhile, government of the United Kingdom would provide grant of 29.02 percent and Pakistan would release share of 14.83 percent. The project is expected to complete by 2018, he added.

Sirohey said that contract for section-III of the motorway linking Shorkot to Khanewal has been signed and construction is expected to commence in December 2016. The ADB noted that M-4 Motorway in Punjab, linking Faisalabad with Khanewal, will cut travel time and support the government's broader goal of improved investment and trade flows along the country's vital north-south corridor route. Once fully completed, the M-4 Motorway will provide a faster, safer, more cost-effective north-south route to the currently overburdened national highway 5 and other existing narrow and congested routes.

LAHORE: Railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar will be made gate-free and signal-free under the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Geo News reported, citing sources.

A fence would be built around the tracks, similar to Motorway, and an underpass or overheard bridge would be built at every gate on the tracks, the sources said.

Work on the project would be initiated from January. The first phase of the project would focus on railway tracks between Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

The signaling system in Pakistan Railways will also be upgraded under the project.

According to the sources, the purpose behind making railway tracks gate-free and signal-free is to make train journeys safer and faster for the public. The fencing and bridges would also lead to a reduction in accidents.

Once the project is completed, the tracks would be able to accommodate high-speed trains. The railways authorities have completed the planning for the project, the sources added.

"Over the next 10 years, the (Pakistan) government aims to increase the share of rail in transportation from 4 percent to 20 percent, which will help lower the costs and environmental impact of moving goods across the country," according to a statement from the state-owned railroad.

The majority of GE Transportation's Evolution locomotives - its most technologically advanced model - are built at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

The locomotives sold to Pakistan, however, are being built in Erie, where the company builds most of the locomotives it produces for foreign sale.

To mark the arrival of the new GE locomotives, more than 200 senior government officials, private sector partners and members of the media attended a ceremonial luncheon at the port, according to Pakistan Railways.

Building the locomotives has provided some much-needed work at the Erie plant at a time when new orders have been slow to arrive. Earlier this year, GE Transportation reduced the workforce at its local plant by 1,500 people because of a slowdown in the rail freight industry.

While much of that slowdown has been attributed to reduced reliance on coal, the new GE locomotives delivered to Pakistan will be used primarily to transport coal inside Pakistan.

Five locomotives are expected to haul coal daily, carrying 12,000 tons of freight.

GE Transportation workers in Erie will have more work to do, thanks to a new order for 20 locomotives from Pakistan Railways.

Top NewsClick Now and Read Later.

This latest order, announced this week, represents an expansion of a 2015 order for 55 Evolution series locomotives, 32 of which are already in service.

At about 2,000 horsepower, the locomotives being built for Pakistan are lighter and less powerful than the 4,600 horsepower locomotives the company builds for North American customers.

“These lighter-weight locomotives,” according to a statement from GE Transportation, “are designed to better maneuver difficult access roads.”

For Pakistan, the purchase is part of a strategic move to increase the percentage of freight moved by rail from 4 percent to 20 percent in the next 10 years.

For the Erie plant, which has been building about two locomotives per week, the order represents a small but important boost that could represent a certain amount of security at a plant where about 1,500 jobs were cut in the first half of 2016.

“Any work is good news,” said Scott Slawson, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers at GE Transportation. “We are in a downturn that we are hoping to turn around.”

There have been some positive signs lately.

Slawson said a handful of people on the layoff list have been called back to work recently. While some of those employees will be taking the jobs of workers who have retired, Slawson said a number of others will provide labor in areas of specific need within the company.

Workers in Erie recently wrapped up work on the first two locomotives in an order of 1,000 locomotives for Indian Railways. The first 40 locomotives will be built in Erie, followed by 60 so-called kits that will be built in Erie and then shipped to India for final assembly. The remaining 900 locomotives will be built in India over the next 10 years.

Slawson said the employment situation at the Erie plant, which builds locomotives for the international market, might be substantially different if the Indian Railways order, the largest in the company’s history, was to be built exclusively in Erie.

Upgrading ML-1 is an early harvest project of CPEC, for which the National Railway Administration of China and the Ministry of Railways Pakistan have jointly conducted a feasibility study.CPEC’s official website quotes the project cost of $8.176 billion for rehabilitation and up-gradation of the Karachi-Lahore Peshawar (ML-1) Railway Track, with a length of 1,872kms. The first phase of $3.2 billion covers up-gradation of four segments.

The upgrade will bring the long-needed attention to railway transportation, which has deteriorated significantly over the past few decades. The Pakistan Railways carried over 70% of the national freight load in the 1970s, which now stands at a meagre 4%. Reportedly, the Pakistan Railways expects that this would grow to 20% after completion of this project with freight traffic increasing from five to 25 million tonnes per annum by 2025. The passenger traffic is also expected to increase by 45% (from 55 to 80 million passengers per annum).

The National Transport Policy available with The Nation has recommended that Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority will be restructured, separating its regulatory and service provision responsibilities.

Work on the National Transport Policy was initiated by the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform in collaboration with Department for International Development (DFID) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in February, 2017.

In road transport the NTP said that the priority for passenger transport by road will be to enhance the usage of non-motorized transport and public transport. An increased focus will be made to the provision of public transport services and integration to other modes. Private transport will be considered complimentary to non-motorized transport and public transport, and will provide reliable access to low density and remote areas.

For freight, the predominant movement by road transport will increasingly be shifted to rail and pipeline, by better integration of agriculture and industry to rail stations, dry ports, and pipelines.

Rural roads will remain vital for providing accessibility to local communities and public services, Urban roads will be designed to support efficient and effective urban transport and International road transport will be supported by accession to and implementation of relevant international road transport agreements and conventions. Leasing within the Right of Way shall not be pursued.

-----------

Regarding the maritime transport the NTP said that maritime sector shall be geared to become a major engine of growth through its support and facilitation of international trade. Karachi and Port Qasim ports will serve as the primary international gateway ports for all types of commodity shipments, with Gwadar Port balancing national trade opportunities, transshipment and regional transit.

A port-city council planning forum will be established to support port developments. Ports will be operated under a landlord port model.

Private sector terminal operators will lead in providing specialist terminal facilities and service delivery. Public sector will provide supportive port and navigation infrastructure and regulatory oversight.

Coastal port harbour facilities will be promoted, including freight and passenger shipping service concessions.

Maritime security will be enhanced for all maritime zones and implementation through maritime security agency. (xvii) An independent regulator will be established as national maritime authority.

Regarding the pipelines NTP said that oil, gas and bulk liquid will principally be transported via pipelines. Bulk dry commodities will be considered via slurry pipelines or conveyors upon establishment of a supporting business case. Pipeline connections will be established to ports, terminals, refineries, storage depots, dry ports, airports, industrial zones and to periphery of urban areas.

Regarding inland waterway transport the policy said that inland waterway transport will be promoted as a cheaper alternate, and environmentally friendly mode, and will become an element of intermodal transport services in conjunction and support of rail and road freight and passenger connections.

The NTP further said that urban transport will be considered as a single integrated transport system and planned in accordance to the hierarchy of modes, including public transport, private transport, non-motorized transport, and freight transport.

Popular posts from this blog

San Francisco based Cloudcade has announced it will invest $6 million to set up a game development studio in Lahore, Pakistan, according to Venturebeat.

The Lahore studio will be led by Ammar Zaeem, cofounder of Pakistan’s mobile game studio Caramel Tech which already has a team of 50 engineers.
The move is a big investment into Pakistan as a tech hub, and it shows how the game business is expanding around the globe.

Cloudcade:

Founded by Di Huang in 2013, Cloudcade is known for its popular multiplayer game "Shop Heroes" that pits players against each other in a competition to create the best shop they can. If a player can make a better store and perform more tasks than his or her rivals, he or she wins.

The game is available on the Apple iOS App Store, Google Play, Samsung Galaxy Store, Amazon, Kongregate, and Facebook. It is now also supported on the Apple Watch.

43.5% of Indians, the highest percentage in the world, say they do not want to have a neighbor of a different race, according to a Washington Post report based on World's Values Survey.

About Pakistan, the report says that "although the country has a number of factors that coincide with racial intolerance – sectarian violence, its location in the least-tolerant region of the world, low economic and human development indices – only 6.5 percent of Pakistanis objected to a neighbor of a different race. This would appear to suggest Pakistanis are more racially tolerant than even the Germans or the Dutch".

Housing Discrimination:

It appears that there is a small but militant minority in Pakistan that is highly intolerant, but the vast majority of people are tolerant. My own experience as a former Karachi-ite is that there is little or no race or religion based housing segregation, the kind that is rampant in India where Muslims are not welcome in most Hindu-dominated neigh…

Pakistan's human development ranking plunged to 150 this year, down from 149 last year. It is worse than Bangladesh at 136, India at 130 and Nepal at 149. The decade of democracy under Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) has produced the slowest annual growth rate in the last 30 years. The fastest growth in Pakistan human development was seen in 2000-2010, a decade dominated by President Musharraf's rule, according to the latest Human Development Report 2018.

Human Development in Pakistan:

UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) represents human progress in one indicator that combines information on people’s health, education and income.

Pakistan saw average annual HDI (Human Development Index) growth rate of 1.08% in 1990-2000, 1.57% in 2000-2010 and 0.95% in 2010-2017, according to Human Development Indices and Indicators 2018 Statistical Update. The fastest growth in Pakistan human development was seen in 2000-2010, a decade dominated by President M…

I am the Founder and President of PakAlumni Worldwide, a global social network for Pakistanis, South Asians and their friends. I also served as Chairman of the NEDians Convention 2007. In addition to being a South Asia watcher, an investor, business consultant and avid follower of the world financial markets, I have more than 25 years experience in the hi-tech industry. I have been on the faculties of Rutgers University and NED Engineering University and cofounded two high-tech startups, Cautella, Inc. and DynArray Corp and managed multi-million dollar P&Ls. I am a pioneer of the PC and mobile businesses and I have held senior management positions in hardware and software development of Intel’s microprocessor product line from 8086 to Pentium processors. My experience includes senior roles in marketing, engineering and business management. I was recognized as “Person of the Year” by PC Magazine for my contribution to 80386 program. I have an MS degree in Electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
www.pakalumni.com
http://www.riazhaq.com
http://southasiainvestor.blogspot.com